"The Tiger Rabbit Pier fought far enough, but I didn't expect to violate the borders of Xilu (Crimea), and it's no wonder that Lu Miguo (Ottoman) sent us a letter."

In the twenty-first month of the Apocalypse, when the north was covered with snow, all the people rejoiced in the face of the snow.

The thick snow will turn into streams and rivers at the beginning of spring, moistening the land that has suffered from a severe drought, and anyone can tell that the drought seems to be coming to an end.

The people were happy, and Zhu Youzhen, who was sitting in the Qi Palace, couldn't go out, was also very happy.

At the beginning of the month, the Ottoman Empire sent a letter to the Ming Dynasty in the Ottoman Emperor's shop, asking if the Ming knew anything about the Tatar expedition to the west.

It was also at this time that Zhu Youzhen learned that Lin Dan Khan had reached the banks of the Volga River and had gained a firm foothold.

"The brocade guards of the North Town Fusi did not send back the message, thinking that there was no chance to release the carrier pigeons."

Lu Wenzhao stood in front of Zhu Youzhen's table to explain, Zhu Youzhen didn't care about this, and waved his hand to signal him not to be nervous.

"It is not a bad thing for us that Lin Dan Khan took the banks of the Volga River, at least he blocked the way for the Rakshasas to advance eastward."

"Now that a Lingbei mountain range (Ural) is blocking the connection between the Rakshasa mainland and the Lingbei Rakshasa people, we can also send troops after the beginning of spring."

"Fu Min, the new chief military officer of Beiting, sent troops and went north along the Yinma River (Irtysh River) to recover the lost territory east of the leading mountain range."

"Secondly, with Cao Wenzhao, the governor of the Northern Army, commanding the troops to the west, and recovering the Mengchi and Hezhong Lands of the National Dynasty, it is best to release the signal in advance."

Zhu Youzhen opened his mouth and issued two military orders, for the former's stubborn Rakshasa people, he chose to attack directly and destroy the other party with a thunderous blow.

For the latter Mongols, he still chose the same choice as before, choosing to build momentum early and give the Mongols time to escape.

For Lin Dan Khan, who occupied the plain between the two rivers, there was no place for him to cherish except for a valley of the Ferghana River.

He could abandon even the Yinli River Valley, let alone the Fergana River Valley.

"Your Highness, in fact, why don't we take this place and accept the Tiger Rabbit Pier and let people become the Great Ming Ping Domain?"

Cao Huachun opened his mouth to speak, he felt that he could completely let Lin Dan Khan serve as the screen of the Ming Dynasty, so as to support Lin Dan Khan and disrupt the situation in Eastern Europe.

Compared with the Crimean Khanate, Lin Dan Khan was more warlike and more tenacious.

After all, the east of the Ural River is the steppe next door, and the west of the Volga River is a plain, which should be grabbed there, even a fool can know.

For Cao Huachun and them, except for one Ferghana River Valley, there are only barren grasslands and the Gobi Desert in the whole river, and there is really nothing to take.

However, for Zhu Youzhen, the richness of Hezhongdi is not on the ground, but underground.

Oil, lithium, iron, gold and other natural resources are all needed by the Ming Dynasty.

"Lin Dan Khan can be called the Ping Vassal of the Ming Dynasty, but that will have to wait for the dynasty to drive it east of the Volga and Don rivers."

"I couldn't see this scene when I was there, so I could only leave it to my brother or Brother Ran."

Zhu Youzhen really wants to support the power to balance Europe, and he does want to support Lin Dan Khan.

But he will not support him when he is still in power, but will leave this opportunity to Zhu Ciran.

This is not Zhu Youzhen's concedence, but the timing is wrong.

He now agreed that Lin Dan Khan would join the Ming Dynasty, and the Two Rivers Plain and the Caucasus would not belong to the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty needed the Lianghe Plain and the Caucasus to support the two new Ping domains, namely the two vassal states of Yongguo and Dingguo.

They served as a vassal, one to contain the Ottomans south of the Caucasus, and the other to contain Lin Dan Khan and Tsarist Russia to the west.

In this way, if the descendants of Lin Dan Khan rebelled against the water in the future, they would not directly hit the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but would be resisted by Yongguo and Dingguo first, giving the Ming enough time to transfer troops.

Zhu Youzhen closed the information in his hand, and then said to Lu Wenzhao:

"How long will it take for the people sent by Yan Yingyuan to arrive in Europe?"

"About half a month......" Lu Wenzhao responded.

What they call this diplomatic move will be Spain's last chance.

If Spain does not agree, then Zhu Youzhen can only sit back and watch Spain lose the war.

At that time, even if Spain falls and France rises, the Ming Dynasty can still support Britain and Lin Dan Khan to stir up the situation in Europe.

Zhu Youzhen bowed slightly, no longer paying attention to this matter, but set his eyes on the Ming Dynasty.

"What is the situation with the development of the plague in Shanxi? Did you find out the source? ”

He asked about Lu Wenzhao, and Lu Wenzhao also bowed and responded, "It's basically under control." ”

"The scope of the plague is currently in the territory of Taiyuan Province and Datong Province, and it has not spread to other places, and the infected people will die in three days, and they will not be able to go far without horses."

"In the territory of the two prefectures, many counties, towns and villages have been eradicated from the plague, and the main infection areas are now nine counties, including Yangqu, Daizhou, Dingxiang, Huairen, Datong and Yingzhou."

"According to Imperial Physician Wu's investigation, the source is probably caused by hungry rats on the grassland, who migrate in groups, like a wave, close to various places close to the water source, gnawing on local grass roots and coming into contact with people at the same time."

"Except for those who have just been infected who can suppress the plague virus with medicine, other people are also difficult to save even the Great Luo Immortals."

"In the month since the outbreak of the plague, 120,000 people have died of the disease in the land of the two provinces......"

120,000 people were sick and died, which made Zhu Youzhen's hands tighten.

"Imperial Physician Wu said that it is estimated that the plague can be curbed after the beginning of spring, but the casualties of the people are probably no less than 200,000 ......."

Lu Wenzhao lowered his head and reported the intelligence, the so-called dead and injured are actually the number of sick and dead.

With a population of 200,000, this is almost 5/1000 of the population of the Ming Dynasty.

This plague is menacing, if it weren't for Zhu Youzhen's constant preparedness for the plague and timely local control, then under the operation of the train, this plague would probably be like the plague at the end of the Ming Dynasty, leaving the north ten rooms empty, and even affecting the south.

Industry is a double-edged sword, it makes the movement of people more frequent, which is a hidden explosive for the Ming Dynasty, which cannot keep up with medical means, and may explode at any time.

"Fortunately, the drought is almost over......"

Zhu Youzhen sighed, the fundamental culprit of the great plague at the end of the Ming Dynasty was rats.

However, this rat is not a common house mouse in ordinary people's daily life, but a prairie mouse.

Zhu Youzhen's memory of the end of the Ming Dynasty is mostly about the great drought and plague, followed by the struggle of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Regarding the plague at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the result of later research was that the grassland in the west of Daming Mountain was degraded due to drought.

At this time, a certain rat that has no food due to the degradation of the grassland begins to multiply in large quantities of plague bacteria.

At this time, the fleas, who could not suck blood because of the blockage of their digestive tract, took their anger out on the rats in the wilderness, so they jumped on the rats and gnawed desperately.

After a few hours, the bitten rat began to develop high fever and then ulcerated and bleeding from internal organs until it died.

The plague bacteria do not die from the death of this mouse, they will migrate to another mouse in the dark and dry, and then there will be a large-scale spread.

Rats in the wild have fleas, and once humans have come into contact with such mice, it is easy to transfer the fleas carrying the bacterium to humans!

Falling temperatures and droughts, which lead to the migration of rats in large groups.

The "thrilling" scene of such a scene is the same as the result of Wu Youxing's investigation, where thousands of rats bite each other's tails and cross the river as if they were dead, even if countless companions die behind them.

[The problem of slow update of new chapters has finally been solved on the app that can change the source, download it here.]

So many rats surged from the grasslands, scattering to nibble on crops and grass roots as they approached human settlements.

In the arid environment of the late Ming Dynasty, rats carrying the virus moved on a large scale, and in Wu Youxing's investigation, many refugees went to find food in the rat holes because of hunger.

The prairie rats drove away the house mice, and the people went to dig the house rat holes, and the plague spread, and the spread of the plague was inevitable.

This series of coincidental factors came together to trigger the plague at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the rapid spread of this plague.

Fortunately, Zhu Youzhen has always paid attention to the plague, not only curbed it in time, but also sent Wu Youxing and them to the disaster area to treat the people.

However, judging from the current situation, there are not many people who can be saved by them, and in the final analysis, traditional Chinese medicine still stimulates the body's immunity through natural herbs, and then destroys the virus in the body.

However, the people of Shanxi were already unable to receive nutritional supplements due to the severe drought, and they were infected with the plague virus, even if Wu Youke's medicine was useful, it could not help much.

"The plague must be curbed in time, the train will be stopped, and for the safety of the people, no matter how much benefit is lost, it is worth it."

Zhu Youzhen was worried about the train stoppage, but he knew it was a must.

"......"

Hearing Zhu Youzhen's words, Lu Wenzhao hesitated: "If the train is suspended, then the matter of the Western Expedition may have to be postponed for a few months." ”

"Postpone it, postpone it......" Zhu Youzhen was also very helpless, and he had no way to curb this plague.

Truth be told, he's done pretty well.

The plague at the end of the Ming Dynasty lasted through the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, and now the plague broke out in the Ming Dynasty until the worst of the drought, which is already an unexpected joy.

If the plague broke out at the beginning, the Ming Dynasty would not be able to reach the current situation in terms of territory, population, and cultivated land.

Compared with the tens of millions of people who died due to the plague in history, the death of these 200,000 people is heart-wrenching, but it is also worth celebrating...... Thankfully, there is only this extent.

"Your Highness......"

When Zhu Youzhen had mixed feelings, Lu Yuangao walked into the hall with a note:

"The Shogunate's ......"

Metropolitan Inspectorate...... This yamen has now almost become the base camp of Yanshan.

Therefore, the meaning of Lu Yuangao's words is not surprising, that the Yanshan faction chose to give in again.

Hearing this, Wang Chengen hurriedly went up to take it, and then handed it over to Zhu Youzhen.

Zhu Youzhen opened it and looked at it, and the content made him feel a little better.

"The three seats in the cabinet in the first election will be retained, and the permanent number of cabinet seats will be six, the central decree is feasible, the military generals shall not interfere in politics, and the law will be changed leniently."

Zhu Youzhen read out the demands of the Yanshan faction, which can be said to have changed 180 degrees compared to their attitudes in August.

Therefore, Cao Huachun and the others next to him couldn't help but smile with relief.

However, compared to their laughter, Zhu Youzhen closed the music in the next second, threw it on the table casually, and said calmly: "It's good to be like this early, but it's too late now." ”

"Your Highness......" Cao Huachun wanted to come up and persuade him, after all, in his opinion, such a result was satisfactory enough.

Their master and servant always have to go to Qi country, there is no need to go deeper and deeper in the troubled waters of the Daming Temple.

It is enough to make the Yanshan faction compromise to the current situation.

It's just that......

"Their means have run out, and mine has not yet been used."

"If they are really sincere, then they will pay the taxes from the south first."

As soon as Zhu Youzhen spoke, everyone immediately remembered what happened a few days ago.

October is the time when the provinces of the world deposit their taxes in the banks and then hand them over to the imperial court.

However, at the end of October, not only in the south, but also in many parts of the world, taxes were not paid in time.

There are all sorts of excuses in the local townships, and they are all stalling for time.

Cao Huachun and the others didn't know what they were delaying the time for, but now they all know.

They wanted Zhu Youzhen to agree to the content of this recital, so as to end the confrontation between the two sides.

The most fundamental reason for this is the sudden rise of Kim Hyun, as well as Yan Yinshao, Wu Aheng and others who have now arrived in Songjiang Mansion.

Kim Hyun's faction has been called the "Kim Party" above the temple.

The gentleman does not call the party, and Yanshan only calls himself "Yanshan", and the so-called Jin Party is also the top hat that Yanshan wears to Jin Xuan's group.

"How long has it been since the Ming Dynasty had a permanent dynasty......

Zhu Youzhen opened his mouth suddenly, and Cao Huachun, who heard the words, bowed down: "Since the prince's recital was rejected by the Metropolitan Procuratorate, it has not been held for four and a half months. ”

"Judging from this situation, I am afraid that the grand court meeting of the Zhengdan Festival in the twenty-second year of the Apocalypse may also be difficult to carry out."

At present, the political struggle in the upper echelons of the Ming Dynasty is not serious, and the absence of a permanent dynasty will not affect the normal operation of the yamen of various ministries, and Zhu Youzhen is not worried.

It's just that the Yanshan faction wants to compromise on this matter, and he is not ready to agree.

He has now prepared everything he needs to prepare, and he will only be able to do it when the students graduate next year.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youzhen thought of someone, and after pondering for a while, he couldn't help asking:

"Brother, what's going on now......

"Bang!"

When Zhu Youzhen opened his mouth to ask, the sound of hammering sounded in the Qianqing Palace in Nanjing.

I saw Zhu Youxiao wearing a middle coat, holding a mallet in his hand to replace the mortise and tenon of a damaged pillar, and standing in the hall, there were Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou in official clothes.

"Long live, according to the minister's investigation, the officials of the three provinces in the south of the Yangtze River did collude with the local small and medium-sized gentry, and still collected miscellaneous taxes prohibited by various orders, without paying any attention to the decrees of the imperial court."

Hong Chengchou in the hall took the lead in making an opening, and Sun Chuanting next to him also added:

"Although many gentry in the three provinces south of the Yangtze River migrated, it was only two years, and some small landlords and rich peasants, in collusion with local officials, soon occupied the local voice and became the new gentry."

After Sun Chuanting finished speaking, the mallet in Zhu Youxiao's hand also stopped hammering, but turned around, frowned and looked at the two of them.

"Who are most of the officials in Jiangnan?"

Zhu Youxiao opened his mouth to ask, and in the face of this question that was easy to offend people, Hong Chengchou hesitated for a second before raising his hand.

However, although it was only a second, this second was enough, because Sun Chuanting's straightforward personality made him raise his hand at the same time as Zhu Youxiao asked:

"Most of them are mainly Yanshan, and occupy sixty percent of the official positions, Jiangnan is also the base camp of Yanshan, and the remaining forty percent are basically the people of the Gu Party and the Zhejiang Party in the past."

"Most of the officials who graduated from the government school and the government school were sent to Luchuan, Jiaozhi, Jiugang and the northern provinces outside the Guan, and most of the original two capitals and thirteen provinces in the Guannai were Yanshan officials."

Sun Chuanting's words can be regarded as exposing the old bottom of the Yanshan faction.

At a time when many people think that the political demands of the Yanshan faction are outrageous, in fact, the middle- and low-level Yanshan faction officials have realized the network of interests that collude with the local government to exploit the local interests.

The problem is something that Chengde and other people in high positions do not know.

Children from poor and wealthy families are equally likely to be corrupt, but poor families are theoretically more prone to corruption.

Because the better the family background, the more money the bribe giver needs to impress him.

A civil servant from a wealthy family, he has a very solid economic foundation behind him, so what he pursues is more fame and achievement.

For the pursuit of money, he already had it before he became a civil servant, and he didn't need to go out of his way to collect money as a civil servant.

On the contrary, children from poor families are much more sensitive to money, and he has to think about the life of his family, the life of his relatives, and even the face of his family.

He studied hard not only to change his own destiny, but also to change the destiny of his family. Therefore, the incentive to take bribes is even greater.

If a child from a poor family wants to endure the temptation, the height of his mind must be higher than the height of life.

However, the Yanshan faction is a quick talent cultivated by Zhu Youzhen, although they were raised by Yanshan for free since childhood, and they have also learned many new ideas and new education, but they have two fatal shortcomings.

First of all, Yanshan students are generally older when they enter school, ranging from seven to fifteen years old.

Before the age of 10, it was fine, but for those who entered school after the age of 10, the three views have basically been cultivated, and the new ideas have not had a profound impact on them.

Here, the second point is involved, they are always cultivated quickly.

At present, the national education of the Ming Dynasty is five years of government school starting from the beginning of school, and five years of government school based on middle school, which adds up to ten years.

From the age of seven to the age of seven, they spend nearly two-thirds of their lives receiving new education.

On the other hand, in Yanshan, the five-year crash course is only one-third of their initial life, or even one-fourth or one-fifth.

The later they go, the lower the percentage of this experience and the less affected they are.

Many Yanshan officials now look back and can't even say a single famous quote from "Yanshan Thought".

Status and power kept up, but ideas did not keep up, which is why the Yanshan faction quickly became corrupt.

Although they looked down on the Donglin Party and the Zhejiang Party, the Donglin Party and the Zhejiang Party had been doing things from Wanli to the Apocalypse, and they did not do personnel until the Chongzhen period.

What about them? From the fifth year of the Apocalypse to the present, it has only been sixteen years, and he has already begun to be greedy.

"I need to tell my brother about this."

"If they were all replaced, how many officers would be needed?"

Zhu Youxiao pondered for a moment and then asked, Hong Chengchou thought that nothing would be involved, so he took the lead in answering:

"At least 200,000 officials are needed to replace all the officials in Jiangnan from the ninth rank and above."

"However, the soldiers and horses and the officials are not among them, and if even they are among them, it will take at least 300,000 people."

"......" Hearing Hong Chengchou's words, Zhu Youxiao frowned, because at present, Da Ming is gradually using students who graduated from Fuxue as officials, but after all, Fuxue has only started for a few years.

The vast majority of the people still think that after the child finishes studying as an official, he will go home to help with the work, or to beg for a living, after all, in their opinion, the twelve or thirteen-year-old child is already very old.

Therefore, there are not many people who continue to study in government schools after official studies, and some of them choose to enter the armament academy and major faculties to continue their studies after graduation, and even fewer people can graduate and become officials.

300,000 people, at least two years of talent reserves.

"Can those older people in the official school be used as temporary officials?"

Zhu Youxiao didn't want to use the older young people in the official school, because he knew that they were the second in the Yanshan faction.

Only students who entered school at the age of seven and graduated at the age of seventeen were the most preferred officials of the Ming Dynasty, because they received a long enough education.

"If it's temporary, then it's naturally okay, but the specifics still depend on Long Live and His Royal Highness King Qi."

Hong Chengchou replied, and Zhu Youxiao also bowed slightly when he heard this:

"You guys continue to investigate, not only the three provinces south of the Yangtze River, but also the southern provinces to find out."

Zhu Youzhen is leaving, and Zhu Youxiao is naturally going to start taking on the burden.

Although his younger brother does not want to be in power, this does not mean that he has to listen to their arrangements.

Zhu Youxiao must hold a part of the power.

"The ministers retired ......"

Seeing that Zhu Youxiao turned around, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting withdrew from the Qianqing Palace one after another.

Soon after they left, the sound of a wooden gavel sounded again in the Qianqing Palace.

At the same time, when he withdrew from the gate of the Qianqing Palace, Sun Chuanting said to Hong Chengchou:

"The southwest land has an old relationship with Hong Gechen, and Hong Gechen ......"

"Because I have an old relationship, I also asked Sun Gechen to check on my behalf, and I went to Fujian and Huguang to investigate, what does Sun Gechen think?"

Sun Chuanting originally wanted Hong Chengchou to investigate the situation in the southwest by himself, but Hong Chengchou interrupted him, and righteously let Sun Chuanting not take care of him, and he went to Fujian and Huguang to investigate.

Sun Chuanting didn't have any fancy intestines, and when he heard the words, he only thought that Hong Chengchou didn't want to go because of human favors, so he said: "Since this is the case, then retire first." ”

"It's hard for Sun Gechen to ......"

Hong Chengchou returned the salute, then got up and looked at Sun Chuanting's distant back, and couldn't help squinting his eyes.

Of course, he knew the situation in the southwest, and it was because he understood that he did not go.

There are many officials of the Yanshan faction in the southwest, once they are found out and need to be replaced in the future, and the Yanshan faction cannot be killed at once, then he Hong Chengchou will have to face the retaliation of the Yanshan faction.

On the other hand, Fujian and Huguang, most of them are the territory of old-fashioned officials, and the old-fashioned faction is no longer a climate, and they can't offend too many people if they think about it.

As for Sun Chuanting, anyway, he has been jealous of the Yanshan faction for many years, and he is not pressed by his debts......

Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou smiled secretly in his heart, turned around and walked towards Xihua Gate, and gradually disappeared into the square in front of the Qianqing Palace Gate.